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My axie died; wondering why.

reneab

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Hi All,
I am hoping I can find out why my Axolotl died. I have been reading lots of information on here for a while and only just introduced myself 2 days ago. Unfortunately my Axolotl died this morning.
The worst thing is not knowing why. I only had her for 3 months and bought her from the local pet shop. I live in the NSW Snow Mountains so heat is rarely an issue. She stopped eating about 2 maybe 3 weeks ago. I was feeding her frozen bloodworms only. she wouldn't take pellets at all and I hadn't yet tried anything else.
I was told by the pet shop that pebbles were ok....I learnt on here they are most certainly not ok. I ended up fridging my Axie (Beelzebub Bella) in the hope of prolonging her life and also in the hope that if she had ingested a pebble she would pass it. I then removed all the pebbles from her tank and changed the water. I kept her in for 3 days and she had a bowel movement which I thought was a good sign. There were no pebbles present. I knew I had to get food into her and that she wouldn't eat while fridged. So after the positive bowel movement I transferred her back to her tank - i floated her container in the tank until the water temp adjusted.
After I put her back into the tank she seemed panicked. She kept swimming to the surface and it was like she was trying to get out.....I was hoping she would settle down and she did sometimes but was like a yoyo; calm then panicked. I didn't want to take her back out again so soon so let her go for awhile....I also tried to feed her with no luck. She died roughly 12 hours after transferring her from fridge to tank.
I also need to add that the last time I fed her she seemed to almost gag when taking the food. She swallowed but seemed to struggle; after that she refused to eat again.
I spoke to the pet shop staff and told them about the pebbles ( which i don't think they took any notice of) one of them told me that blood worms can have little spikes on the end of them that can possibly get caught in their throats like a fish bone would in a human........
The tank was filtered and I changed 2/3 of the water once a fortnight..
Sorry for the extremely long winded post - hope someone might shed some light on where I may have gone wrong as I would like to try again but am a little nervous now.
Cheers!!
:confused:
 

Shizeric

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What size was the tank? What type of filtration? Doing that large of a water change probably prevented the aquarium from cycling...did you check the water parameters at the time of death?

And whatever they said about the bloodworms having spikes on them is completely bogus.
 

reneab

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Thanks Eric,
60 litre tank, just the one axolotl on her own. I did have 4 feeder fish at one stage and she ate two. I got rid of the other two when she got sick.
As for the parameters, I only have a PH kit and PH was fine, maybe a little on the alkaline side. I don't have anything to check for nitrates or nitrites. I didn't know that was important until I got onto this site. Does that come in kit form from the pet shop??
Filter was just an in tank filter with a spray bar pointed at the side of the tank to minimise water flow......
and yes, I thought the spike thing on the bloodworms sounded dodgy. He also told me that while it is possible for axies to swallow stones, if you feed them by hand toward the top of the tank rather than at the bottom then it is unlikely ....I said what about food that lands on the bottom of the tank? He dismissed that as not likely also......I gave him a dirty look for that. It annoys me that they sell something but don't want to be sure of the info they dish out.
Have I left anything out?
 

carsona246

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it's gonna be hard to tell you for sure without knowing the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate readings. Your petshop should have some test kits. how long did you acclimate your axolotl from the fridge water to the tank water before you put him in the tank?
 

reneab

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probably about an hour....
I was going to make it longer but she seemed distressed in the container after this time.......would that have been enough to kill her, if the water temp difference was still too extreme??

I know it won't be possible to say exactly what made her ill....I guess I am more trying to see what I could do differently next time. So far; no pebbles/stones, obviously, and get myself a kit to check the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite readings. There are two important changes right there. Oh and the water change....that's interesting because I think I also got that information from the pet shop also...*sigh. What are the correct details regarding water changes, please?
Thanks :)
 
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megan84

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im soo sorry about your axie. i understand what you're saying about not knowing things until you jumped on here. i was the same.

:(
 

rexx

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I know how frustrating it can be when u know ur axie is sick and u do everything to help them. I don't have my own test kit just yet, but if you get another axolotl and wish to get everything tested in the tank , better pets and gardens (if you have one close to you, as i see you are in australia) , they do free pond and aquarium water testing.


Also , after all the stupid information i got from the pet shop i have learnt not to listen to them - i met two people that had their own axolotls so i listened to them a little bit. other than that get your info from here i suggest! as the people on this forum are more experienced with this stuff, unlike the people in the pet shops! :)

P.S. i know the PH lever is best in between 7 - 7.5 ! thats about it ... until i buy my own test kit, then i will get the accurate readings which are best for a axolotl tank :)
 

reneab

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Yes very frustrating. Don't worry, I will be getting my advice from this site and also passing this site address onto others.....I will also be giving a copy to my pet shop. They are really lovely people but I get the impression that they think because they run a pet shop and I don't that my information can't possibly be accurate - not if it clashes with their beliefs. Now THAT is frustrating. Anyway, what else can I do.
It's become obvious to me after reading other threads, that a kit to test ammonia/nitrates and nitrites is more important than a ph kit.

Thanks for the tip re: Better Pets and Gardens. Unfortunately I live in a small country town. There might be one in Canberra but thats 2 hours away. I'm sure if I get a diy kit all will be good!

Sometimes you have to learn the hard way :uhoh::happy:
 
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Bellabelloo

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When you say she was gagging, I wondered if there was maybe a stone lodged in her mouth ? .
When it comes to pet shops , we all initially trust them. To coin a phrase ' Jack of all trades, master of none
Sorry to read of your loss.
 

reneab

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Hi Julia,
Yes, although my knowledge is limited, from what I have read on here I strongly suspect stones were a big contributor. I wonder if I had left her in the fridge for a longer period if she would have passed it/them. I was suprised though that she passed away so quickly after I transferred her back to her tank and am really curious as to whether I may have not waited long enough for her water to adjust to the water temp in the tank and whether that could have sped up her path to death. When she died her mouth was open and I did try to see down her throat, but couldn't see anything there.
I feel terribly responsible.
 

Bellabelloo

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It may have not been anything that you did do. I think you are being a very responsible axolotl owner in trying to find out why this may have happened. Many of us come to this forum because of something that may have happened to our little axolotl friends. ( and some end up addicted to the forum) . Please don't feel too disheartened.
 

reneab

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Thanks so much for that Julia!
The other good thing is, I have passed on this forum address to a friend who's son has been desperate for an axolotl and they are just about to pick it up from the same pet shop. So at least he will be armed with much better info than I was. For starters they bought rocks for the base and I was able to scream "DON"T DO IT!"..haha.
My friend was just telling me, however, that she was told (I don't know by whom at this stage) that axolotl's can also die from swallowing sand......is this true?
 

henswifey

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Hi I am new to this too...I think I read on here that the sand can only be a problem if it the sort that clumps together. I have only had my Axie 3weeks. He has been looking not so good and you are right... the well meaning pet shops have no idea. My Hubby was sold the tank for the Axie and a giant bag of the most inappropriate gravel. Thank goodness I had been on here that afternoon before we put any of it in tank. Today I decided I would try the salt bath and fridging thing. My poor Axie (Felix) passed a huge stone he could have only got at the pet shop before I got him so he has been blocked up I would say since I got him. So your thoughts on it being a stone are a really strong possibility. Good Luck with your next one! : )
 

reneab

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Thank you.
It seems such a common occurance and yet the pet shops really don't seem to take it seriously.
Another member just posted this link on another thread as a great supplier for sand
https://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=4776

Since you are in need of sand (as am I) I thought I would share this with you.

I have seen others say you can get sand from Bunnings and it is probably cheaper but it needs a lot of cleaning whereas the one from the aquarium site above is ready to use. I also wonder if sand from Bunnings etc would be much coarser and then possible damaging to the axie if inhaled....not sure about that.

The link above takes you straight to black sand (which would look amazing with a light coloured axie against it) but I am sure you can get a lighter colour sand if you check the site.

I hope your little pal gets better!!
 

rexx

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My friend was just telling me, however, that she was told (I don't know by whom at this stage) that axolotl's can also die from swallowing sand......is this true?

I was actually told this as well by the pet shop! funnily enough i went to another one of their stores in a different area and their axolotls has sand ... so how do you figure taht? lol.

So i removed the sand from my tank and put big pebbles in ... as they suggested the reason why my first axie may have gotten sick was because he got the sand confused with food and ate some of that...

So i think its best to listen to the experts who also own axies not people in the shops that read from their books and assume things!
 

axigeek

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I got my axi from an aquarium, thinking well, they know lots about creatures that breath water, so they should know more then the normal pet shops, but I was wrong. They gave me bad advice, sold me large pebbles, looked at me funny when I mentioned fridging and sold me a fungal cure that is toxic for axi's.

Sorry to hear about ur loss of ur axi, but just think that if you get another, you can take expert care of it and u've possibly helped save the lives of many other axolotls :happy:
 

Boo Penguin

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Thanks Eric,
60 litre tank, just the one axolotl on her own. I did have 4 feeder fish at one stage and she ate two. I got rid of the other two when she got sick.
As for the parameters, I only have a PH kit and PH was fine, maybe a little on the alkaline side. I don't have anything to check for nitrates or nitrites. I didn't know that was important until I got onto this site. Does that come in kit form from the pet shop??
Filter was just an in tank filter with a spray bar pointed at the side of the tank to minimise water flow......
and yes, I thought the spike thing on the bloodworms sounded dodgy. He also told me that while it is possible for axies to swallow stones, if you feed them by hand toward the top of the tank rather than at the bottom then it is unlikely ....I said what about food that lands on the bottom of the tank? He dismissed that as not likely also......I gave him a dirty look for that. It annoys me that they sell something but don't want to be sure of the info they dish out.
Have I left anything out?


I know how you feel with the pet shop people. The guys near where I live know NOTHING about keeping axi's but they sell them anyways. I was told today that axi's should eat crickets... when I told him that my axi would defiantly not go for crickets he glared at me! Also they told me gravel was the best thing for the tank bottom, which I learned wasn't true...nice waste of $30. I can't even find anywhere withing like 100km that sells chillers. As it is quite hot where I live I want one to make my axi happy. They all give me funny looks when I ask them to order in a chiller for an axi; one guy even laughed at me... I ended up ordering one from America.

Also for the ammonia and nitrate tests you can buy them from the pet shop, or order them online. I check mine weekly after I do a water change.
 

reneab

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Thanks so much to you all for your comments - I really appreciate it!! I have heard there is a breeder in my area so I might go and have a chat - check they have the right attitude and maybe get my next axie from there. Will let you know what happens!

I have a friend that ordered an axolotl, just before mine passed away, from the same pet shop I bought mine. I gave her a few important pointers such as not getting gravel which thankfully she took seriously (maybe because I pressed the point so hard!!) She said she really had to stand her ground with the pet shop guy and insist on ordering aquarium sand! Unbelievable!
Then to top it off they didn't even suggest decholrinating fluid...... they did for me, but maybe it was because I asked more questions. It's a lesson when purchasing any pet from a pet shop; do your own research and do it well, then you can walk in there and tell them exactly what you want with confidence!
 

mewsie

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Good for you spreading the axie love, Reneab!

I've now learnt not to bother even getting into a conversation about why i want what I'm ordering, invariably the shop owner tries to talk me around because they 'know better' than 'a load of strangers online who think they know what they are on about' as forums were once described to me by a LFS.
 

siona

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It's so frustrating!! Having to spend ages defending your opinions, when this forum is the joint knowledge and experience of hundreds of enthusiasts from around the world! I wouldn't want someone coming into my work telling me I'm doing things wrong either, but I'd at least give it some thought - maybe do some extra research or something!
 
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